The Only One Who Understands Me
by Windrises
Summary: Ichigo and Rukia both feel misunderstood by their friends, but they start to realize they're on a similar path.


Note: Bleach is an anime that was done by the studio Pierrot and is based on a manga by Tite Kubo.

Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Orihime Inoue, Uryu Ishida, Renji Abarai, and Chad finished up another perilous and complicated adventure. The six heroes returned to their hideout.

Rukia looked exhausted, while lounging around her bedroom. She was grateful that she and her friends had defeated the villains, but she was so tired. She looked at the clock and saw that the afternoon had just ended. Despite that, she was tempted to start taking a nap. She looked at her bed and said, "I think a short nap would be alright." She laid down on her bed and closed her eyes. She said, "Ah, that feels so relaxing."

Rukia's short nap turned out to be even shorter than she was expecting it to be, because Orihime burst into the room. Orihime was very positive and had lots of energy, so she wasn't as tired as Rukia. She started prancing around while saying, "Rukia, why are you going to sleep? You haven't even had dinner."

Rukia sighed and replied, "I know, but I'm so tired."

Orihime had a confused look on her face, while asking, "Why would you be tired?"

Rukia said, "Because we've been working so hard and have been fighting so many villains."

Orihime thought about that and realized that Rukia was making a fair point. Spending weeks, practicing fight moves and being in dangerous situations are very understandable reasons, for being worn-out and wanting to get an early rest. Orihime felt dumb for not thinking of that. She said, "I'm sorry for interrupting your rest."

Rukia got out of bed and replied, "It's okay. Besides, I was just taking a short nap."

Orihime signaled for Rukia to follow her. She said, "Let's get going."

Rukia looked confused, while asking, "What do you mean?"

Orihime answered, "We and the others haven't had dinner. You should at least eat, before going back to sleep."

Rukia replied, "Okay then." Rukia felt she'd rather go back to sleep, but she knew Orihime wouldn't understand. She was used to not being understood.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was with his fellow male companions, in the kitchen. Like Rukia, Ichigo was worn-out. He just wanted to have a short dinner, before getting some sleep. Ichigo was hoping he could convince his friends to not order anything, that would take a long time to arrive. Ichigo faced his friends and said, "There's a fast food place across the street. I think we should just go there."

Chad replied, "No offense bro, but we're celebrating one of our biggest victories. Because of that, I think we should have a more special meal."

Ichigo tried to be openminded, so he asked, "What do you have in mind?"

Uryu suggested, "I think we should order pizza."

Renji had an excited look on his face, while saying, "Let's order twenty pizzas!"

Ichigo had a surprised look on his face, while asking, "Twenty pizzas? I hope you're joking around, because that's way too much."

Uryu replied, "I disagree. After all, we can save the pizza for leftovers."

Ichigo responded, "That would probably lead to lots of expired pizza. Besides, it would take the pizza place a long time, to make and deliver that."

Renji looked frustrated, while asking, "Do you always have to be a stick in the mud? Just be cool and let us order twenty pizzas!"

Uryu replied, "I'm not used to thinking that Renji is smart, but he's been the cleverest person, this time."

Chad said, "I'm sorry Ichigo, but I have to side with Renji. He's making a better argument."

Ichigo sighed and replied, "I'll be okay. Go ahead and order whatever you want." Ichigo dreaded the thought, of having to wait so long for dinner. However, he didn't know how to talk his friends out of it. He was used to not being understood.

A few minutes later, Rukia and Orihime walked into the kitchen and greeted the guys. Orihime asked, "Did you guys order dinner?"

Renji had an immature smile on his face, while saying, "We ordered twenty pizzas!"

Orihime replied, "Wow, that's quite the order."

Rukia was concerned about how long that would take. Considering one pizza usually took a half hour, she feared this would take hours. She asked, "Do you know how long it'll take?"

Uryu calmly said, "At least two hours, maybe three."

Rukia sighed and replied, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I don't want to wait that long."

Renji frowned at her and responded, "Too bad. You and Ichigo are like the Prince and Princess, of the Pessimistic Kingdom."

Rukia walked up to Ichigo and asked, "Can we talk, in the hallway?"

Ichigo answered, "Sure."

The two of them went into the hallway. Ichigo asked, "What's going on?"

Rukia smirked and answered, "I'm blowing this popsicle stand."

Ichigo replied, "If I knew this place sold popsicles, I wouldn't of stood around, feeling starved."

Rukia facepalmed and responded, "It's an expression."

Ichigo nervously chuckled and replied, "I'm sorry about that." He paused and tried to figure out what Rukia was telling him. A minute later, he said, "You're planning on leaving this place, aren't you?"

Rukia said, "I sure am. There's probably a nearby restaurant."

Ichigo replied, "Yeah, there's a fast food place across the street."

Rukia responded, "Perfect, I'm going to go there, have dinner, and get an early rest. I know you well, so I assume you're tired and would like to come along."

Ichigo replied, "I sure would."

Rukia responded, "Let's get going." Ichigo nodded.

They returned to the kitchen. Renji angrily stared at them and asked, "Have you come to continue ruining our celebration?"

Rukia said, "Calm down, Renji. Ichigo and I are going to go and get our own dinner. We'll be out of your hair."

Renji replied, "Thank goodness."

Ichigo responded, "We'll see you later. I hope you have a good celebration."

Orihime waved to them and said, "Have fun."

After Ichigo and Rukia walked out, Chad nudged Renji and said, "Dude, you need to be nicer to those two."

Renji sighed and asked, "I was acting like a jerk, wasn't I?"

Uryu answered, "More or less."

Orihime patted Renji's shoulder and said, "You shouldn't worry Rukia and Ichigo's worn-out behavior. They probably just need a break."

Chad put his hand on his chin and asked, "Since Ichigo and Rukia are hanging out with just each other, does that mean they're on a date?"

Orihime smiled and said, "Sounds like a cute ship."

Rukia and Ichigo started walking to the fast food place. Rukia said, "You're the one who knows how to get there, so you'll have to lead the way."

Ichigo replied, "No problem." Rukia started holding Ichigo's hand. Ichigo nervously asked, "What are you doing?"

Rukia said, "Just holding your hand, so we don't lose each other. There's a lot of people walking around, so we don't want to get separated. Does holding a woman's hold make you embarrassed or something?"

Ichigo replied, "It normally doesn't, but when you're the one holding my hand, it's different."

Rukia had a confused look on her face, while asking, "What do you mean?" Ichigo wanted this awkwardness to end, so he started whistling.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the fast food place. They walked inside, ordered dinner, and sat at one of the tables. Rukia realized that she was still holding onto Ichigo's hand, so she let go, and said, "I'm sorry. I held it longer than I should."

Ichigo replied, "It's no big deal."

Rukia looked at him and said, "If you weren't a part of the team, I would have a much rougher time."

Ichigo asked, "What do you mean?"

Rukia answered, "Our fellow teammates are nice and fun people, but I often feel like I don't fit in. In fact, I feel like you're the only one who understands me."

Ichigo replied, "I feel the same way about you."

Rukia smiled and asked, "Really?"

Ichigo answered, "I often feel like an outcast. Thank you for making me feel like I'm normal."

Rukia started holding Ichigo's hand, while saying, "Why be normal, when you can be as wonderfully unique as you always have been?"

Ichigo replied, "Wow Rukia, that means a lot to me. However, I think you're the wonderful and special one, not me."

Rukia responded, "Either way, we both mean something to each other."

Ichigo noticed the handholding, so he said, "Rukia, I really hope this isn't a downer thing to say, but why are you holding my hand?"

Rukia looked down at her hand and said, "To be honest, I didn't realize I was doing it. I should let go."

Ichigo shyly replied, "I wouldn't mind, if you didn't let go."

Rukia blushed and responded, "Okay."

Ichigo asked, "Would it be weird, to call your hands beautiful?"

Rukia answered, "Maybe, but you also have beautiful hands."

Ichigo said, "That's hardly anything special, compared to the beauty of your heart."

Rukia replied, "Nobody's ever called my heart beautiful."

Ichigo smiled and responded, "Then maybe I'll say it more often."

Rukia smiled back and responded, "Maybe I'll do the same, for you and your heart."

Rukia and Ichigo were so busy flirting, that they didn't realize their order was ready. One of the female employees came to their table and dropped their meal. The employee said, "By the way, you seem like a lovely couple."

Rukia replied, "Oh, thank you."

After the employee walked away, Ichigo asked, "Can you believe she'd say that? We're just friends."

Rukia asked, "Are you sure about that?"

Ichigo asked, "What do you mean?"

Rukia said, "We've basically been flirting this whole time and our we can't stop holding hands."

Ichigo could feel a blushing sensation in his heart. He asked Rukia, "You want to be more than friends?"

Rukia looked down, while saying, "I'm sorry. That was a silly idea."

Ichigo gently lifted Rukia's chin up and replied, "Actually, it's the best idea."

Rukia shyly asked, "You really think so?"

Ichigo lightly smiled and said, "If we're going to be holding hands for so long, we might as well. Besides, I've never met anybody that I can relate to or who understands me more than you."

Rukia replied, "I feel the same way."

After finishing up dinner, Ichigo said, "I need to go to the bathroom. You'll probably want to stop holding my hand."

Rukia stopped the handholding and replied, "That's for sure."

Ichigo asked, "Can we hold hands on the way back home?"

Rukia answered, "If you wash your hands for a full minute." Ichigo nodded.

A few minutes later, they walked out of the fast food place and continued the handholding, as they started walking back home. When they got the front door, they let go of each other's hand, so they wouldn't have to hear their friends' teasing.

When they got inside, Renji looked at them and said, "I'm sorry for being a little rude."

Ichigo calmly replied, "It's no big deal, my friend." They high-fived each other.

Orihime looked at Rukia and asked, "Did you have a nice time?"

Rukia said, "Yes and I'm sorry for the short conversation, but I'm so tired. I'm going to go to sleep."

Orihime replied, "Okay, but I'm going to ask you a lot of questions, when you wake up."

Rukia responded, "Okay then."

Ichigo walked Rukia to her bedroom. Rukia said, "You gave me a wonderful night."

Ichigo replied, "You gave me the same."

Rukia walked into her room and said, "I wish we had started dating, when we weren't so tired. We can talk more about our relationship, after we get a proper amount of sleep."

Ichigo started feeling like he was about to fall asleep, while saying, "Sounds good."

A brief moment later, Rukia turned around and saw that Ichigo fell asleep on the floor. Rukia gave him a blanket and a pillow and said, "Goodnight, my love." Ichigo smiled. Rukia and Ichigo felt misunderstood by a lot of people, but they understood that they loved each other.


End file.
